--- title: "Cube: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/cube/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/cube" critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Cube (1998): what the critics said Critics' score 68 from 8 reviews: 7 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics like Cube, and they like it for the same reason: a great deal is done with almost nothing. The reviews keep returning to the single set, the strangers waking in a lethal maze of booby-trapped rooms, and the way Natali builds tension from puzzles and mistrust rather than action. Several praise the ensemble for holding the screen on what amounts to a bare stage, and most find the allegory about trust, betrayal and the cost of doing nothing absorbing rather than laboured. The reservations are consistent even among admirers. The acting is called variable, the characters thin or overly broad, and more than one critic notes stretches where the film stalls or the allegory turns simplistic. The spread is narrow otherwise. The lone dissent comes from Slant Magazine, which grants the clever situation and a few decent scares but finds the film boxed in by its own premise, with no satisfying explanation or deeper payoff. ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic praises this micro-budget sci-fi for its conceptual ideas and narrative tension over action sequences. It highlights the focus on the trapped characters' selfish behavior as the true threat, along with absorbing puzzles, allegory and suspense that offset variable acting. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/cube) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The review commends the film's clever low-budget execution of a group navigating a deadly cubic maze, focusing on character dynamics, puzzles, and tension without over-explaining the setup. It contrasts it favorably with bigger-budget sci-fi and notes its effective use of a single set and ensemble cast. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/cube-2-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 1998. The critic calls the film a highly ambitious cerebral sci-fi thriller and veritable nightmare that gradually pulls viewers into its claustrophobic spell and becomes acutely suspenseful. It singles out Natali as a visionary new talent while noting tedious stretches with less-than-riveting characters. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-11-ca-21465-story.html) ## The AV Club — Keith Phipps Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 April 2002. Natali creates a complex piece around a simple foundation, keeping things interesting by concealing as much as revealing while turning viewer loyalties and maintaining ambiguity. The film remains provocative despite occasional stalls into simplistic allegory and overly broad characterizations. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/cube-1798197429) ## The Independent — Liese Spencer Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 August 1998. Festival review. The critic highlights the film's visually inventive premise of strangers trapped in a lethal, Rubik's Cube-like maze of booby-trapped rooms while navigating interpersonal conflicts. It praises the director's ability to blend abstract mathematical ideas with a tense human story in this low-budget sci-fi horror. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/edinburgh-festival-98-when-all-the-parts-add-up-1172470.html) ## The New York Times — Anita Gates Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 1998. The critic finds the film surprisingly gripping in the best Twilight Zone tradition, with an outstanding ensemble cast performing on a bare stage and real understated tension. It singles out the allegory about futility, the necessity and betrayal of trust, and humans without the luxury of inaction. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/11/movies/film-review-no-maps-compasses-or-faith.html) ## Slant Magazine Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2003. The critic finds Natali’s cult favorite boxed in by its intriguing central premise, delivering an initially chilling Twilight Zone mood that gives way to paranoia among thin, threadbare characters. The film excels at creating a clever situation and a few decent scares but fails to provide a satisfying explanation or deeper payoff. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/cube/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 June 2009. The critic calls it a superb example of innovative low-budget filmmaking. They highlight the tight plotting that reveals character through tense situations and note its thought-provoking ideas about perception and the bigger picture. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/cube-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/cube.md